Johnny Walker
John "Johnny" Walker (born in Charleston, South Carolina), better known as Mr. Wrestling II, is considered by many to be the most accomplished masked babyface American professional wrestler. II was one of the most popular wrestlers in the Southeast, Mid Atlantic, Florida and Georgia territories in the mid 1970s to late 1980s. He was considered one of the greatest American wrestlers not to win a world title - mask or no mask. *'Ring Names' *Johnny "Rubberman" Walker *Grappler (Florida) *Mr. Wrestling II *Billed height 5 ft 11 in *Billed weight 240 lb *Born Charleston, South Carolina *Resides Honolulu, Hawaii *Trained by *Tony Morelli *Pat O'Connor *Debut 1956 *Retired 1987 Career ::Johnny Walker's career began in 1956 working occasionally on cards in Hawaii where Johnny grew up. Tony Morelli and Pat O’Connor were the wrestlers who trained Johnny. In 1958, Walker left the islands for his first time going to Toronto, which was a major culture shock. “When I got off the plane there for the first time, I almost turned around and got back on because it was so cold. I got off that airplane in a Hawaiian suit. I thought I was going to freeze to death. I was not a happy camper.” Johnny stayed in the area for a few months. Pat O’Connor was there, and so were Don Curtis, “Lord Athol Layton, and Hard Boiled Haggerty (Don Stansauk). ::By 1960, Johnny moved on to work as a heel in the new Northeast WWWF for Vince McMahon Sr who had broken away from the NWA along with Gene Kiniski, Don Leo Jonathan, and a young and cocky Bruno Sammartino. One day while they were training Walker taught Sammartino “a smaller guy can beat you if you’re not careful. Strength is not everything. You have to have good balance, coordination, timing, and leverage.” These traits had led Houston promoter Paul Boesch to dub Walker “Rubberman” . “One day he was watching me wrestle, and I was extremely flexible at the time. He liked the contortionist moves that I made with my nimble body.” The nickname remained with him until the early 70's. ::The 1960s were also spent working for Nick Gulas, a supposed bad paying promoter. “I had a good deal with him. He gave me good guarantees and it worked out alright. I was on top and did well there. A lot of the guys I’ve spoken to say he wasn’t a man of his word, but he kept his word with me.” Next in Tennessee, he had tagged teamed with Silento Rodriguez who was legally deaf – he and Walker had good chemistry anyways. “He just kind of followed suit to what I did. He watched me physically and just kept up with me.” ::He also began working in Georgia during the 1960s pairing often with Jim Wilson, former football All-American wrestling during his off-seasons from the Atlanta Falcons. “I took him down to the gym and kind of stretched him a little bit and showed him he didn’t know as much about wrestling as he thought he did.” Walker worked all across the U.S. & Canada during that decade, including stints in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas, Portland, and Calgary. ::Birth of Mr. Wrestling II ::In March, 1971 Walker went to wrestle for Eddie Graham in South Florida starting out as a baby face. "Eddie brought me in as the Grappler," Walker recalled. "Graham knew my background and thought I would fit in well there." At first, Walker didn’t like wearing a mask. "It was very difficult to work with," he remembered. "The first time I wore it, as soon as the match was over I ran back to the dressing room so I could rip it off. I was gasping for air. But I got used to it eventually, and I was very successful with it." ::After a couple months he started a program of matches against the "Original Grappler", he only wrestled as the Grappler for 5 months before unmasking to compete against Bobby Duncum for his Brass Knuckles Title. "If Duncum wants my mask off, says the Grappler. I'll take it off...if he puts up his brass knuckles title on the line." He lost the match after unmasking as Johnny Walker. ::His next series of matches were against Mr. Wrestling involving $500 and hair stipulations. Mr. Wrestling having lost $500 to Walker then demanded the next match was to be Mask vs Hair. Walker in fact lost this match, the $500 and his hair. ::In January 1972 Walker and Mr.Wrestling tagged together for the first time in Florida. "we were like two peas from the same pod in the ring together" stated Walker. ::After Ray Gunkel's sudden death following a match in August 1972, a promotional war in Atlanta started during that Novembers Thanksgiving week. Almost everyone working for the Atlanta NWA's booking office went to work for Gunkel's widow, Ann, in her new All-South Wrestling Alliance except for Bob Armstrong. ::(This is one twisted story, Gunkels widow was a young beautiful professional model, she had her husbands controling interest in the Atlanta office and having learned the business from him or so she thought, (she was proven wrong though). His partners all pro wrestlers (except for Promoter Paul Jones) as was her husband were not pleased to have her trying to run the show so to speak. The week before Thanksgiving day these men closed the company, screwing her out of the her husbands shares of the comapany. These men then reopened the Atlanta office the next day without her and the office staff and workers who were loyal to Ray Gunkel retaliated. With in days the NWA's Atlanta booking office woke up to a Atlanta Journal headline story, all their office staff & wrestlers had left in mass and joined Ann Gunkel's All-South Wrestling Alliance who booked a competing show for the Thanksgiving day in Atlanta. Only Bob Armstrong and Rock Hunter who had missed the walk out meeting showed up for Wenesday nights NWA wrestling show.) ::Because of the promotions war, Atlanta promoter Paul Jones needed to rebuild his booking office that day. The Thanksgiving day matches that were the back bone of the company getting thru the winter months was in deep trouble, without matches Thanksgiving evening the NWA Alanta booking office of Paul Jones may have never recovered. ::With assistance from promoters Eddie Graham, Fred Ward and Jerry Jarrett, among others, wrestlers were sent in from all over the south to save the NWA's and Paul Jones butts and get the promotion back on its feet. Johnny Walker, who was nearing the end of his run in Florida was one of them, along with Eddie Graham and others from Graham's, Ward's and Jarret's areas. (Fred Ward's help was so desparately needed he was given 20% of the Atlanta booking office and a NWA vice presidency) ::Leo Garibaldi, a former Atlanta booker, returned to Atlanta to help Jones. He wanted to bring Tim Woods back, who, as Mr. Wrestling, had had a great run there earlier. However, Woods was already working for Graham, topping his cards in Florida, so was unavailable. ::Graham did agree to bring in Woods occasionally, but not for the rebuilding process. Instead Graham/Garibaldi came up with Plan B: Graham remembering how well Walker and Woods worked together in Florida decided to create a second Mr. Wrestling. Enter Johnny Walker. "Leo asked me to come here and take the mask to become Mr. Wrestling #2," reported Walker, later. January 1973 was the first appearance of Mr. Wrestling 1 and 2 in Promoters Paul Jones Georgia Championship Wrestling. He wrestled several times that year on Paul Jones cards as both Johnny Walker and Mr. Wrestling ll. ::Walker dominated Georgia Championship Wrestling as Mr. Wrestling ll during his tenure, he won the 1st of 10 Georgia Heavyweight Titles on March 2 1973 but his legacy is surprisingly overlooked and underrated during today's WWE dominion over the sport. Walker far surpassed the popularity of Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods) throughout the Carolina's, Georgia, Florida and the Deep South regions in his 15 years as Mr. Wrestling II. ::Former President Jimmy Carter (a fellow Georgian) called II his favorite wrestler (as well as his mother's favorite). There is an urban legend that is undocumented, but claims that II was invited to a party by then-President Carter, but (naturally) Secret Service would not let a man wearing a mask in to any affair with the President. It is said he had the Secret Service relay his regards to the President, but refused to unmask. ::(Having lived and traveled thru the south during the 70's to mid 80's to wrestling matches in Georgia, Alabama and the Florida panhandle I can attest to the fact that Johnny Walker was a fanatic about not revealing his identity. He traveled the South wearing his mask to and from matches, he seldom talked to anyone at the matches and was 1 of the few allowed to come and go as he pleased having a 20+ year history of showing up for every match.) The_OldTimer Finishing maneuver ::* the running knee lift & pin. Trained or mentored wrestlers * Magnum T.A. * Rick Rude * Tony Atlas * Hercules Hernandez Notable Feuds * The Assassin * The Spoiler * The Masked Superstar * Jack Brisco * Buddy Colt * Magnum T.A. * Jimmy Garvin * Tim Woods * Minnesota Wrecking Crew * Larry Zbyszko * The Road Warriors Championships as Johnny (Rubberman) Walker * NWA Mid-America World Tag-Team Champion w/ Len Rossi (9/68 - 11/13/68) * NWA Southern Tag-Team Champion w/ Ken Lucas (2/02/69 - 2/69) * NWA Southern Tag-Team Champion(2) w/ Ken Lucas (3/13/69 - 69) * NWA Southern Tag-Team Champion(3) w/ Bob Ramstead (4/28/69 - 5/19/69) * NWA Mid-America World Tag-Team Champion(2) w/ Len Rossi (69) * NWA Southern Tag-Team Champion(4) w/ Sundown Kid (6/09/69 - 6/16/69) * NWA Mid-America World Tag-Team Champion(3) w/ Bearcat Brown (6/21/69 - 6/28/69) * NWA Mid-America World Tag-Team Champion(4) w/ Bearcat Brown (7/09/69 - 69) * NWA Southern Tag-Team Champion(5) w/ Dennis Hall (8/11/69 - 10/06/69) * NWA Southern Tag-Team Champion(6) w/ Dennis Hall (1/19/70 - 70) * NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Champion (3/70 - 70) * NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Champion(2) (7/28/70 - 11/25/70) * NWA Southern Tag-Team Champion(7) w/ Tojo Yamamoto (8/24/70 - 9/07/70) * NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Champion (9/21/70 - ??) * NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion (3/23/71 - 4/14/71) * NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Champion(3) (72) * NWA Florida Tag-Team Champion w/ Boris Malenko (6/24/72 - 6/29/72 Championships as Mr. Wrestling ll * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (1/73 - 5/18/73) * NWA Georgia Southeastern Tag-Team Champion w/ Bill Dromo (4/73 - 4/25/73) * NWA Georgia Tag-Team Champion w/ Bob Orton Jr (6/09/73 - 8/73) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(2) (8/31/73 - 11/73) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(3) (1/11/74 - 7/05/74) * NWA Georgia Tag-Team Champion(2) w/ Tim Woods (8/02/74 - 8/16/74) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(4) (8/30/74 - 9/13/74) * NWA Georgia Tag-Team Champion(3) w/ Mr. Wrestling I (9/06/74 - 9/20/74) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(5) (10/03/75 - 11/27/75) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(6) (10/26/76 - 11/25/76) * NWA Georgia Tag-Team Champion(4) w/ Mr. Wrestling I (1/14/77 - 2/25/77) * NWA World Tag-Team Champion w/ Mr. Wrestling I (77) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(7) (7/22/77 - 9/77) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(8) (78 - 2/06/78) * NWA Georgia Tag-Team Champion(5) w/ Tony Atlas (2/78 - 3/78) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(9) (10/16/78 - 1/06/79) * NWA Tri-State/Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion (2/16/79 - 9/05/79) * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion(10) (1/12/80 - 3/29/80) * NWA Georgia Tag-Team Champion(6) w/ Mr. Wrestling I (9/19/80 - 10/10/80) * NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion (12/81 - 3/82) * NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion(2) (4/82 - 5/82) * Mid-South Mississippi Heavyweight Champion (11/27/82 - 8/83) * Mid-South Tag-Team Champion w/ Tiger Conway Jr (3/12/83 - 4/13/83) * Mid-South Tag-Team Champion(2) w/ Magnum T.A. (12/25/83 - 3/12/84) * Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion(2) (3/12/84 - 5/13/84) * NWA Southeastern Continental Heavyweight Champion (8/84 - 11/84) * NWA Alabama Heavyweight Champion (4/27/87 - 6/14/87)